Carib Lit Plus (Early to Mid June 2023)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here – credit and link back if you use).

Events

A reminder that Dotsie Issac‘s Senses, the second annual edition of her poetry and music showcase, is coming up in June right here in Antigua.

(Source – N/A)

***

Maybe this requires a separate category? Summer activities for children in Antigua and Barbuda? If you’d like to pre-register for my Jhohadli Summer Youth Writing camp in the tail end of summer, email me at antiguanwriter@gmail.com I’ll have it as long as there’s interest. Meanwhile there’s also Splash Robo Club’s Kids Steam Team Summer Camp Edition.

(Source – Facebook)

***

Antiguan and Barbudan designer Miranda Askie repped the 268 in Trinidad and Tobago at EWA AFRICA 2 – SANKOFA STYLE, a Caribbean fashion event kicking off the 2023 Pan African Festival TT, hosted by the Emancipation Support Committee of Trinidad and Tobago and directed by Richard Young.

“I am simply grateful for the opportunity granted by the tourism of Trinidad and Tobago @ewaafrica @richard_a_g_young and all the other designs I had the opportunity to dialogue with and more,” Askie said in the caption accompanying this post on instagram of her relaxing poolside in Trinidad in one of her designs. She explained, in response to my inquiry, “I was asked to represent Antigua for 2024 Caribbean fashion week and Ewa Africa2 Sancofa Style by the board of tourism of Trinidad and Tobago 🇹🇹”. (Source – Miranda Askie on Instagram)

***

A two-fer right here in Antigua and Barbuda – the launch of my, Joanne C. Hillhouse’s To be a Cheetah, a collab with local artist Zavian Archibald, and the Wadadli Pen Awards ceremony, hosted, as usual by the Best of Books. July 2nd 2023; mark the date.

(Source – BA on Facebook)

***

June means its once again #readCaribbean and #Caribathon two Caribbean Heritage Month social media book events encouraging readers to read and share Caribbean reads. This vid is by one of the CaribAthon founders and she kicks it off with The Secrets of Catspraddle Village by Callie Browning and At the Bottom of the River by Antigua’s own Jamaica Kincaid– “Jamaica Kincaid has yet to disappoint me; she feeds me,” she said. “This will get re-read a couple of times.” The video speaks most extensively on Kincaid’s book and also mentions Breanne McIvor’s The God of Good Looks.

I am currently reading Kim Johnson’s The Illustrated Story of Pan and most recently finished Andrea Levy’s Small Island – both of which I would recommend checking out.

See Books below for more reading ideas. (Source – Various)

Obits.

Ask a whole generation of Antiguans and Barbudans – those of us born in the 1970s – to this day of more varied options where had the best ice-cream and there remains only one answer, Thwaites, at the corner of De Souza Road and All Saints Road in Ottos. Never mind that it was the only ice-cream shop for the longest while, its flavours are wrapped in memories of family trips to the pink, wooden building for your choice of the smoothest vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate, before or after maybe, one room over, having your picture taken in your best Sunday dan-dan in the studio whose familiar backdrop is in the albums or on the mantels of thousands of Antiguan and Barbudan households. It is for the latter that in its announcement of his passing, ABS TV/Radio described Egbert Merril Thwaites as a “pioneering Antiguan photographer”. Thwaites corner is iconic for a number of reasons – notably the political meetings held there each campaign season; note that it bears the name of the man who was 99 at the time of his passing in early June (his death was announced on June 7th 2023). (Source – ABS TV/Radio on Facebook)

Books

Tameisha’s Adventures sends its 13-year-old heroine back in time to 1840s Barbados, a time in which Black people are oppressed even though slavery has legally ended. Tameisha is under constant threat of being sent to work in sugar cane fields. Will she find her way back home or stay in the past for ever? Evans previous publication is Memory and Landscapes: the Works of Four Early Twentieth Century Barbadian Writers. (Source – JR Lee email)

***

Refica Attwood has authored an activity book, Eco Tour: Study Guide with Puzzles and Activities, which was published in early June 2023 under the Wallings Nature Reserve Inc trademark.

(Source – RA on Facebook)

***

I was hoping to finish reading my ARC of this before its release date (especially after my e-copy of her previous book, Josephine against the Sea, timed out before I could finish it. But here we are – I’m still reading Nightmare Island (about 133 of 305 pages in) but still motivated to finish.

In the meantime, let me say happy pub dat this week, June 6th 2023 specifically to Shakirah Bourne of Barbados.

Nightmare island is so far as mysterious as the name suggests with a spunky female protagonist to hook our imaginations on as we try to figure out what in the douen is going on. (Source – Shakirah Bourne on Twitter)

***

New addition to the Antiguan and Barbudan Children’s Literature page – Pip the Parrotfish by Sophia Charles of Barbuda. Click the link to read about it. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

Accolades

Trinidad and Tobago’s Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s When We were Birds , recent winner of the OCM Bocas Prize, continues its winning ways, after making the short list of the Jhalak Prize, as it lands on the long list of Goldsboro Books 2023 Glass Bell Awards.

“The Glass Bell Award is judged by David [Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and MD, and founder of the Glass Bell Award] and his team here at Goldsboro Books. It is the only prize that rewards storytelling in all genres – from romance, thrillers and ghost stories, to historical, speculative and literary fiction – and is awarded annually to ‘a compelling novel with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised’. The shortlist will be announced on Thursday 27th July, with the winner – who will receive £2,000 and a beautiful, handmade glass bell – announced on Thursday 28th September 2023.” (Source – Twitter)

***

Antigua-Barbuda independent media company Tarsier Strategy has won another international award – this one a MarCom International Gold Award for its work on The Tourism Authority’s #CoolisClean Campaign in the category Video/Audio | Digital Video Creation | Animation category. 

MarCom Awards honors excellence in marketing and communication while recognizing the creativity, hard work, and generosity of industry professionals. MarCom is administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). The international organization, founded in 1995, consists of several thousand marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, digital, and web professionals. AMCP administers recognition programs, provides judges, and rewards outstanding achievement and service to the community. (Source – Tarsier Strategy on Linkedin)

***

This year’s Anthony N. Sabga laureates, including yours truly , the Arts and Letters laureate, have been feted at a grand gala in Trinidad and Tobago, and we acknowledge each of them as creatives in their own way. Science and Tech laureate Dr. Mahendra Persaud of Guyana through his research creates various strains of rice (flour and more to follow) that have helped boost production (to the benefit of local farmers and the Caribbean community in terms of better nutrition – with research, for example, looking at producing high zinc strains and lower glycemic strains of rice – and food security). Also, like any creative, he has spoken about working in isolation, being driven, wondering if your work is seen and understood, and hoping that this boosts interest and investment in more research within the region. Public and Civic Contributions laureate Dr. Adesh Sirjusingh of Trinidad and Tobago is creating a safer environment, first for gestating mothers, reducing maternal mortality, and working to be more responsive to patient needs in the public healthcare system. Talking to him, it’s clear that it’s not just about medicine but people – something I pressed for in our own public health care system in CREATIVE SPACE #11 OF 2023 – DOES OUR PUBLIC HEALTH HAVE A CULTURE OF CARE?

To be clear, none of the work I do is with the expectation of winning an award and a lot of what I apply for (the opportunities and opportunities too I share) is practical – part of building a writing career – and moments like this when you are seen or selected by others is never in my bingo card, plus I am extremely reserved and don’t do well in the spotlight but I appreciate this appreciation in great part because it allows me to continue the work that I love to do; and …I receive it (that’s the mindset). Per the citation, I was recognized for my “achievements as a writer and in full appreciation of the role [I have] played in creating an enabling environment for self-expression through storytelling in [my] home country.” The full citation and more personal and extensive reporting on laureate weekend is to be posted on my Jhohadli blog.

Each laureate’s flag was hoisted and their anthem played at the gala awards ceremony June 3rd in the Grand Ballroom of the Trinidad Hilton. Featurettes of laureates’ life and work to that point were screened (those can be viewed here) and each received Each was presented with a cheque for the equivalent of TT$500,000, an Anthony N. Sabga Awards commemorative medal, and a citation, ushering them in to the company of laureates who have been recognized since the programme was launched in 2006. More about the Sabga prize here. You will find there as well the nomination form for the 2024 awards. (Source – JCH)

Wadadli Pen News

See above re Wadadli Pen founder, me again, claiming a prize – here I am thanking my communities which includes Wadadli Pen.

(Source – me)

***

When I returned from the festivities above, it was back to work on Wadadli Pen. And, as I cleared the inbox and processed the entries, these questions asserted themselves – how to fast track automating this process because this one-one-thing ain’t it, how to boost public school participation especially at the primary and to a lesser extent secondary level because the private schools are dominating, how to boost male participation because the arts are for everyone, how to spur youth participation even as we’re happy to see the 18+ writers respond enthusiastically to the opportunities opening up now that the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize project is the Wadadli Pen Inc. non-profit. I’m recognizing some of the past finalists as I clear the entries for blind judging by the authors and am happy to see the mix of continuity and new voices. Final count of 2023 Challenge entries is 101 submissions. The stats, with some things as yet undefined, also show that

-the majority are poems, followed by fiction, then by essays a distant third – love to see entrants experimenting with creative pieces

-school participation generally was down in terms of the spread if not the volume – with participating schools/educational institutions on record being past winners for schools with the most submissions – Antigua Girls High School, Island Academy, St. Andrews Primary School, St. Anthony’s Secondary, and St. John’s Catholic Primary – and one of them will be winning that prize again; as well as St. John’s Lutheran School, Sunnydale, and Princess Margaret School, and tertiary institutions Antigua State College and, for the first time, UWI (Five Island Campus). Shout out as well to youth and community groups Listen to Me and Vibrant Faith Ministries for their submissions.

As a reminder, the Wadadli Pen main prize winners, i.e. the13 people who over 15 Challenge seasons in 18 years had their names emblazoned onto the Alstyne Allen Memorial plaque sponsored by the Best of Books bookstore, to date are 2004 Gemma George (F, 18, Antigua State College); 2005 Sandrena Martin (F, 16, Antigua State College); 2006 Ayoka [Angelica] O’Donoghue (F, 17, Antigua State College); 2007-2009 – no Challenge held; 2010 – no main winner; 2011 Devra [Vanessa] Thomas (F, 18-35); 2012 Rosalie A. Richards (F, 17, Antigua State College); 2013 Asha Graham (F, 15, Antigua Girls High School); 2014 Asha Graham (F, 16, Antigua State College); 2015 Margaret Irish (F); 2016 Daryl George (M, 18-35); 2017 Kaeiron Saunders (M, 18-35); 2018 Kyle Christian (M, 18-35); 2019 – no challenge held; 2020 Cheyanne Darroux  (F, 11, Golden Grove Primary School) & Andre J. P. Warner (M, 18-35); 2021 Kevin Liddie (M, 18-35)

As noted, our 2023 awards ceremony is already being planned.

Judges are our team member and returning as chief judge author and publisher Floree Williams Whyte, team member and former Wadadli Pen finalist Devra Thomas, and owner of Ten Page bookstore, a patron, and long time associate of Wadadli Pen Glen Toussaint.

To support our work become a Patron or Volunteer or Intern. (Source – in-house)

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Wadadli Pen Window Closing; BCLF Window Opening

Of course, you already know this if you are a regular visitor to this site and, especially, if you remember to check in periodically with our Opportunities Too page.

Wadadli Pen is our own writing challenge encouraging Antiguans and Barbudans to tell their stories. Wadadli Pen Inc. – formerly the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize – has been working to nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda 2004. The submission deadline for this year’s Wadadli Pen is May 31st 2023. Prizes will be a mix of cash and gifts across three age categories (12 and younger, 13 to 17, and 18+/adult) in addition to the main prize for the overall winner. There will also be a prize for teh school with the most submissions. See Wadadli Pen 2023 for submission guidelines.

Keep writing as right after that the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival with a July 1st 2023 submission deadline. It is their fifth annual story contest, open specifically to writers of Caribbean heritage; one winner based in the US and one in the Caribbean region. There is a US$1750 cash prize for each award among other valuable gifts.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

What Wadadli Pen Needs (Wadadli Pen 2023)

As we are in the last week of the Wadadli Pen Challenge 2023 submissions period, YOUR ENTRIES are what we need before May 31st 2023. Challenge yourself, be inspired, write, submit. Before doing so you can even get help polishing your entries at our May 25th workshops.

To make dreams come true this Challenge period and going forward, we need YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS if you are in a position to contribute as a patron to Wadadli Pen Inc. We welcome gifts big and small, in cash and in kind.

To do the work, we need YOUR TIME as a volunteer or intern – the link explains the difference and some of the skillsets we could use. But it’s about time and commitment to community work and specifically Wadadli Pen’s mission to nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda.

One of the volunteer or internship roles would be working with our YouTube channel which continues to grow (with several new subscribers in May 2023) in spite of limited content and promotion with this month trending upward in terms of engagement generally. No surprise given that it’s Challenge season. The top trending posts of the period are all related to that.

5 – Writing tip – “let it breathe”

4 – Wadadli Pen on We the People

3 – tie –

Inspired to Write (Wadadli Pen) –

Wadadli Pen Writing Challenge 2023 (Antigua and Barbuda) – How to Enter

2 – tie –

Promoting Wadadli Pen on The Review –

Wadadli Pen Tip – Just Ride

1 – Wadadli Pen re-launch on Voice of the People –

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Is My Story/Poem/Essay Ready to be published? (Wadadli Pen 2023)

The ratio of people who tell me they want to publish a book compared to people who tell me that they want to write is probably 4:1 and I get it – the hunger to get your work out into the world but I often feel like they’re putting the cart before the horse. I mean, obviously, if they’re thinking of publishing a book, they’ve written something but that doesn’t mean that that something is ready to be published. Writing is the purpose of writing; publishing a book is another step altogether and a big one. & I worry sometimes that people are skipping the writing en route to publishing a book, in part because it’s easier to self-publish now than when I started out from my surveying of the landscape. But that still doesn’t mean that the work is ready to be out in the marketplace. But it sells, it makes money, people like it, you’re just a hater. I mean that’s one way of looking at it. Another way of looking at it is that I believe in writer development and that’s one of the reasons I started Wadadli Pen – to nurture and showcase the literary arts in Antigua and Barbuda. Before the baby is sent out in to the world, it has to grow – go through stages of development, which in the case of writing, may include revisions and self-editing, feedback from someone outside of yourself or from a later self who has some distance from the work (i.e. put it down and come back to it), writing groups and/or workshops, writing classes or seminars, submitting to journals and contests (test your writing in the markeplace, building a writing profile etc)…or just put the work out; that’s worked for some people. I come from a different school. & the truth is different schools can yield success; there are different paths to the goal.

I do hope that one of your paths, if you’re a writer or aspiring writer in Antigua and Barbuda takes you through the Wadadli Pen challenge.

Some of the interviews we’ve been doing to promote the 2023 challenge have included hacks or tips about writing and about submitting – the Voice of the People appearance, for instance, floats ideas to jump start new writing, while on The Review I talk about what’s meant by “keep it Caribbean” from our submission guidelines:

“the idea is to kind of re-wire our brain to think of ourselves as the center of the story; to think of ourselves as where the story starts. That doesn’t mean that you have to write a stereotypical, cliche Caribbean story. In fact, we would prefer if you didn’t. You can write any kind of genre, you can set it in outer space, you can set it in a parallel universe, you can set it in a future reality but the idea is that imaginatively, psychically center your Caribbean-ness…life as you see it but also as you imagine it.”

from The Review interview

Margaret during her We the People appearance reminds that you don’t have to be Antigua-Barbudan born (only resident) to submit; whoever you are you have a particular story to tell.

You shoud give these media appearances a listen.

And if you think you need help, sign up for one of this week’s Wadadli Pen workshops…

and just so you know I will be offering scholarships to my Jhohadli Writing Project workshops as part of the prize package.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Wadadli Pen Questions Answered

What’s Wadadli Pen?

How long has it been around?

How do you enter the challenge?

What do you mean by “make it Caribbean”?

How can I support Wadadli Pen?

Just some of the questions I answered when I stopped by The Review 268.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Carib Lit Plus (Mid to Late May 2023)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here – credit and link back if you use).

Books and Other Reading Material

Tameisha’s Adventures by Zoanne Evans. “Thirteen-year old Tameisha is tired. Tired of teachers, tired of homework generally tired of school. All she really wants to do (apart from hanging out with her friends) is to style hair. That all changes when a cosmetologist inspires her to make an unprecedented visit to the school library to research Madam C.J. Walker. In the library something goes terribly wrong and Tameisha finds herself still in Barbados, but in 1840 just post-emancipation…Will she find her way back to 21st century Barbados or will she have to stay in the 19th century and accept her awful fate?”

***

The paperback edition of Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s When We were Birds was published in 2023.

The Trinidad and Tobago author has already wracked up a bevy of awards and accolades for her debut novel (see below) and is, at this writing, on the short list for the Jhalak Prize. (Source – N/A)

Events

Soul Sations will be offering up good food for mind and body including a talk on wellness by Saran Davis on June 3rd at the G Art Gallery in Piccadilly. Scheduled performers include deejays Sistah Souljahs; singers Amanda Tappin and Rashid Walker; literary artistes Kimolisa Mings, Glen Toussaint, and MJ the Poet; with food by Vegan 100 and drinks by Timmy Time Cocktails. (Source – Kimolisa Mings on Instagram)

***

My timeline was awash with pictures from the May 26th – 28th 2023 return of Jamaica’s Calabash literary festival and I’m borrowing some of them. Slideshow below.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Slide to see Joyce Carol Oates, Johnny Temple with Padma Lakshmi, Angelina Jolie with Padma Lakshmi and Sarita Choudhury, steps with book titles, Kwame Dawes, Amina Blackwood-Meeks with Janet and Dale Mahfood, Olive Senior, and Kevin Jared Hosein. (Source – Johnny Temple, Caribbean Writers, and Calabash International Literary Festival on facebook, seasaltanddrum, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tanya Batson-Savage on twitter)

***

The Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Education‘s virtual research symposium series continues May 24th 2023 on facebook live. 6-8 p.m. The previous week’s symposium can be viewed here. (Source – Daily Observer Antigua by Newsco)

***

In the UK, on June 24th 2023, Wasafiri will host an afternoon of readings & conversation, ‘Windrush: Writing the Scandal’, live in partnership with the Black Cultural Archives.

Windrush – the name of one of the ships that took them there – has become a catch-all for the post-World War 2 generation of then British West Indian citizens who went to help rebuild England, them and their generations after suffering extreme racism in the process. (Source – Ira Mathur on Twitter)

***

The National Archives of Antigua and Barbuda’s inaugural marketplace and cultural exhibition is coming up on June 9th 2023. It is expected to feature local craft, maypole dancing, john bulls, moco jumbies, local foods, including a fungee eating competition, and local drinks. Vendors can call 462-3947 to register. (Source – Daily Observer newspaper by Newsco)

***

‘The Historical and Archaeological Society (HAS) held the first event in its ‘Unlock the Museum’ series over the weekend, as persons passionate about Antigua’s history traversed Fort James. The ‘Unlock the Museum’ series was created to share some of the museum’s most intriguing artefacts, stories, and heritage about Antigua and Barbuda. Observer media travelled to the site of the first event in the series, Fort James, as Dr Christopher Waters, an archaeologist and expert in Antiguan fortifications spoke to us about what the ‘Unlock the Museum’ initiative means. “The idea is to bring all of this knowledge, history, material that we have to the wider public, unlocking our archives…so these field trips that we are doing now actually hark back to about 30 years ago, which was common within the Society,” Dr Waters explained.’ from Observer newspaper (Source – Facebook)

***

Antiguan and Barbudan poet Dotsie Isaac debuted Senses, a spoken word event, last year to considerable acclaim and here she comes again. The event is scheduled for June 17th and benefits the local Sickle Cell foundation. ICYMI, I interviewed her for CREATIVE SPACE in 2022. (Source – Dotsie Isaac on Instagram)

***

When I wrote in one of the recent Wadadli Pen 2023 Challenge posts that Teachers are the Real MVPs, I didn’t even realize it was Teachers’ Week – it was a recounting of an encounter and a celebration of one of our key partners, teachers. Well, May 14th – 21st is Teachers’ Week in Antigua and Barbuda and we are happy to join in giving them all deserved flowers. A teacher adjacent activity I wanted to mention is the Ministry of Education’s research symposium, May 17th and 24th, which you can view and/or listen from their facebook page. Symposia like this which offer research specific to Antigua and Barbuda is vital – give the findings a listen. (Source – Daily Observer newspaper)

Wadadli Pen News

ETA: Patronage update

As we’ve updated you, the 2023 season of the Wadadli Pen Challenge has launched. We can confirm that contributions from Barbara Arrindell, Wadadli Pen team member, and Daryl George, past Wadadli Pen winner, have enabled us to take the step of opening an account as a non-profit. They have been added to our 2023 patrons list, as well as individuals (Joy Lawrence), companies (KN Consulting, the Best of Books bookstore, Moondancer Books), and community groups (Cushion Club) who have committed to contributing to the 2023 challenge season, with prizes and other things (e.g. promotion). We continue to seek patronage. Contact us at wadadlipen@gmail.com if you want to contribute or volunteer/intern with us. As usual, we shout out all the media who have helped push our agenda and especially so this year – Observer Media Group, WTP 93.5 FM (which hasn’t happened yet but which we expect to this week), and apart from the Wadadli Pen blog and vlog, both of which you should be subscribed to by the way, we have a year-round presence on Antiguanice.com

I’m happy to report that entries have started coming in and we look forward to y’all overwhelming us with submissions. It’s the kind of problem we like to have. (Source – in house)

Other Opportunities

Remember to check Opportunities and Opportunities Too to make sure you never miss out on another …opportunity. One of those opportunities, specific to Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora artists, is the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival short story competition, which, in part due to limited opportunities, has quickly become quite coveted. It is made more appealing by the high standards it brings to table breaking and/or elevating the vanguard of new Caribbean writing. If you feel your pen is nice, this is a challenge you want to take. They have added to the challenge; ruminate on the number 5/five. “Have you ever thought about what you would do if you only had 5 months to live? What if that time was whittled to 5 weeks or even 5 days? What would you do with those remaining moments? How would you spend your last 5 dollars in the world, knowing very well that there’d be nothing else? Thinking back, is it possible to recall the most impressionable 5 moments of your life? The number 5 is undoubtedly an important increment. From universally representing the length of the daily grind between the (often) dreaded modern work week of Monday to Friday, those 5 days which have come to define the life cycles, circadian, arcadian and social rhythms of modern human civilisation; to the perfectly appointed number of digits on each hand, 5 is a relatable and easily identifiable multiple. In the Caribbean, 5 is nature in action. Countless childhood memories have been crystallised from the tart and sweet nectar of ripe 5-finger fruit – memories headlined by mothers who have themselves wiped clean the sticky chins and fingers of their children – those lifted hands almost an act of reverential offering. Which Caribbean person can deny that carambola is the star(fruit) of the wet season? The regalia of a formed hibiscus flower has five sepals, the fragrant frangipani, 5 petals. Indeed, the number 5, as a pattern and as a unit is stamped in the conscious and unconscious memory, flora, fauna and sensory landscape of all Caribbean people. Permit us to add one more object to the magical numeric sequence of our complex and variegated Caribbean lives. This year, the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival (BCLF) observes 5 years of celebrating Caribbean writers in the North American diaspora and across the yes – you got it, 5 boroughs of New York. It’s been 5 wonderful years of falling in love anew with Caribbean stories.” The submission deadline is July 1st 2023.

Details here. (Source – BCLF email)

News

The Writers Guild of America is on strike. So? What does that have to do with us? I have been paying attention to this because as both a creative and freelance writer I have had to learn and adapt industry standards to my own experience and efforts to build a career as a writer in the Caribbean as I work and as I advocate. For example, ownership and rights as relates to created content, rates, and terms of use generally have always been priority issues for me and have informed the resources I try to share on this type (passing on some of the things I have had to learn the hard way). Wadadli Pen aside, I have not had the time to give to this kind of work formally (plus I’m not really built for that) but the outcome of this could inform standards for writers anywhere going forward – e.g. re the use of AI (not just for writers, voice, image, art created are all at stake) – and signal (or not) the value of the work we do as writers. Inasmuch as I understand it, and from this great distance here, I support writers standing up for the right to own and profit from the work we do. That’s broadstrokes. This is an interesting breakdown of the issues at hand.

Per The Blacklist, “What’s at stake is nothing less than the future of writing as a viable career.” They made a strong case against scabbing or breaking the picket line by picking up the work WGA members have put down on projects produced by Guild signatory companies. As someone who has been all-in on my writing career (no net) since 2002/3, I know how important it is for the people you work with (and sometimes for the other creatives you work alongside) to understand that we must insist on the value of what we do (the right to a fair fee, an understanding of rights and ownership of our Intellectual Property etc.), so that we can eat and, hopefully, thrive. (Source – The Blacklist email)

Accolades

Young Barbudan Sophia Charles won the BarbudanGo World Oceans Day writing competition in 2022 and her winning story “Pip the Parrotfish” is being turned in to a book which will be released in June 2023. As a pre-launch activity, BarbudanGo, a non-profit on Antigua’s sister island, held an illustration competition, the winner of which is Kyrolos Greaux. He won an art book and art supplies. As for Pip the Parrotfish, BarbudanGo is in the process of planning and organizing a series of reading drives. (Source – the Daily Observer by Newsco)

***

Fresh off of her win at Bocas, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ayanna Lloyd Banwo has made the short list of the Jhalak Prize.

The prize is awarded to writers of colour in the UK. Ayanna lives in the UK and her book When We Were Birds is one of six in the running, culled from a long list of 12. The three-member judging panel includes award winning UK based TnT poet Anthony Vahni Capildeo. The winner will be announced on May 25th 2023. (Source – Twitter)

***

Regional winners of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize have been announced. Jamaican Kwame McPherson is the Caribbean pick.

ETA: About the regional winner for the Caribbean via Ruth Killick Publicity, “Caribbean – Kwame McPherson (Jamaica) A past student of London Metropolitan University and University of Westminster, Kwame McPherson is a 2007 Poetic Soul winner and was the first Jamaican Flash Fiction Bursary Awardee for The Bridport Prize: International Creative Writing Competition in 2020. A prolific writer, Kwame is a recent and successful contributor to Flame Tree Publishing’s (UK) diverse-writing anthologies and a contributor to ‘The Heart of a Black Man’ anthology to be published in Los Angeles, which tells personal inspiring, uplifting and empowering stories from influential and powerful Black men.”

McPherson is joined by Hana Gammon (South Africa, Africa); Agnes Chew (Singapore, Asia); Rue Baldry (United Kingdom, Canada and Europe); and Himali McInnes (New Zealand, Pacific). The overall winner will be announced on June 27th 2023. (Source – Commonwealth Foundation Creatives for Facebook)

***

“CREATIVE SPACE #19 OF 2022: THE ‘HEADKERCHIEF’; HERITAGE, FASHION, CELEBRATION, AND RESISTANCE” from the Antigua and Barbuda art and culture column by Joanne C. Hillhouse is in the running for the Caribbean Broadcasting Union Caribbean Media Awards – People Choice. Anyone can vote until June 12th 2023. Also in the running are six stories by Great Belize Productions. You can view or read before voting here. (Source – CBU email)

***

We previously related that several Caribbean diaspora writers were on the Women Prize Discoveries longlist and now we can report that some of them have made the shortlist: Specifically Georgina Charles, described as a “grandchild of the Windrush generation”, Paige Cowan-Hall, “the child of second generation Jamaican immigrants”, and Riana Duce, whose paternal grandparents are from St. Kitts and Nevis “where her grandfather still lives”. Credit to her Caribbean roots, Duce said, in response to a question asked of the short listed writers, “My favourite author is Andrea Levy. Small Island taught me more about the Windrush generation – and with it my own family history – than school ever did. There isn’t a book Levy wrote that I don’t adore. Her voice, her wit, the intimacy and scope of her work, and her phenomenal characters will live with me forever. ” Per the Women Prize site, “The Discoveries programme, run by the Women’s Prize Trust in partnership with Curtis Brown literary agency, the Curtis Brown Creative writing school and Audible, aims to find and support aspiring female writing talent from across the UK and Ireland and culminates in the awarding of the Discoveries Prize.” (Source – Women’s Prize for fiction email)

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Carib Lit Plus (Early to Mid May 2023)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here – credit and link back if you use).

New Books

UK based writer Michael Nathan-Pepple’s second book like his first, All About Antigua and Barbuda: Discover the history and heritage of this twin Island Nation, through some of its top sites and attractions, was inspired by his visit to Antigua and Barbuda and fascination with the numerous historical sites on the island. This new book, Historical Churches of the Caribbean Island of Antigua: An overview of the complex relationship between the older established churches, slavery and their black converts, is in two parts – covering historical aspects, Africa before the transAtlantic slave trade, the treatment of Africans during chattel slavery, and reparations; the second part covers the history of 24 churches on the island. Nathan-Pepple’s wife, Sheralyn, who is, as she put it during the AB Today appearance, the Antiguan half of the couple. She has contributed to the projects as a researcher, proof reader, navigator (during the on island research), and photographer. He said he is working on other books: Amazing Africa and The Real Abolitionists. (Source – The Best of Books on Facebook)

Accolades

Dionne Brand has won the Poetry Prize in the L A Times Book Prizes for her book Nomenclature: New and Collected Poems. The 43rd iteration of the Prize was awarded earlier in 2023. Twelve outstanding literary works, across various categories, were awarded. Brand is a Canadian writer born in Trinidad. (Source – JR Lee email)

***

Several Caribbean and Caribbean-descended writers have been named to the Women’s Prize Discoveries longlist for emerging writers across the UK and Ireland. They include Georgina Charles, described as a “grandchild of the Windrush generation”, Paige Cowan-Hall, “the child of second generation Jamaican immigrants”, Riana Duce, whose paternal grandparents are from St. Kitts and Nevis “where her grandfather still lives”, and Joy Fraser, who was born in Grenada. The 16-member list was selected from 3,000 submissions of 10,000 words or fewer of a novel in progress. “The chance that at the end of this process, my book could be real to more people than just me. It will live outside of my head and my google docs, and in the heads of everyone else, living its life.” – Georgina. “Having the opportunity to fine tune my writing style, craft a novel I am truly proud of and meet like-minded people. Writing can be isolating so creating a network of writers to give feedback to, learn from and to help keep each other going is so important. The prize money would also give me the finances to take the research for my novel further, maybe even helping me visit the communities I write about in Jamaica.” – Paige. “I’m excited to speak to the experts and soak up every bit of knowledge I can – I’m so grateful for all the opportunities being longlisted brings with it. And hopefully I can connect with some fantastic writers too.” – Riana. “I am excited about not knowing where continuing through the Discoveries process could lead me, the sheer unpredictability of it. I’m also really looking forward to meeting the other longlistees and participating in the Discoveries Writing Development course and everything that follows from there.” – Joy. (Source – Women’s Prize email)

Opportunities

The Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival short story competition is open for entries. Top prize is US$1750. Details here:

bclf-short-fiction-story-contest-fiveDownload

The deadline is July 1st 2023.

ETA: The judges for this year’s BCLF short story contests have been announced. They are – for the Elizabeth Nunez Award for Writers in the Caribbean – Cherie Jones (author of How the One-armed Sister sweeps Her House) of Barbados, Sharma Taylor (author of What a Mother’s love don’t teach you) who is resident in Barbados but originally from Jamaica, and Ruel Johnson (whose words inspired me to start the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize) of Guyana; and – for the Elizabeth Nunez Award for Caribbean American Writer’s Prize – Vanessa Riley (author of Island Queen and Queen of Exiles) of Trinidad and Tobago, Merle Collins (poet, writer, author of The Ladies are Upstairs) of Grenada, and Fabienne Josophat (PEN Bellwether Prize 2023/Author of Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow/Essays/Poems) of Haiti. (Source – Lit Arts Barbados & BCLF email)

***

The Wadadli Pen Challenge is back for the 2023 season after a year’s hiatus. Details on how to enter here.

The Challenge is the flagship project for Wadadli Pen which is also responsible for this blog. Read our history, and explore how you can contribute or even volunteer, towards our success. Remember to check Opportunities and Opportunities Too as well for more opportunities for writers and artists. (Source – inhouse)

Events

Antigua Dance Academy is back on stage as we enter our unofficial dance season here in Antigua and Barbuda…

(Source – Antigua Dance Academy on Facebook)

***

Trinidad and Tobago’s literary festival Bocas boasted 80 events between April 28th – 30th. A lot to keep up with. But don’t worry if you missed any of it. Though it was back to a live programme for the first time since the pandemic, it still streamed, which means that the events can also still be viewed online. (Source – Bocas email)

***

Calabash is back.

The St. Elizabeth, Jamaica based festival will run from May 26-28 and include appearances by co-founder Kwame Dawes (Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius), Margaret Busby (New Daughters of Africa), Curdella Forbes (Songs of Silence), Kevin Jared Hosein (Hungry Ghosts), Kei Miller (Writing down the Vision), and Olive Senior, among others. There will be sessions on “Caribbean Complexities”, “New Daughters of Africa”, and a tribute reading of Michael Thelwell’s The Harder They Come, in addition to concerts and screenings. (Source – Twitter)

***

We’ve reported that Antiguan and Barbudan artist and art teacher has pancreatic cancer and needs assistance. The art community has rallied with a fundraising exhibition and sale.

Tickets are on sale at Harper’s, and people are encouraged to purchase one even if they can’t make the sale. You can also pay at the door. (Source – Facebook)

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

CITIZEN ALWIN BULLY: Comrade and friend

by Dorbrene O’Marde

This tribute to late Dominican artist Alwin Bully by Antiguan-Barbudan artist Dorbrene O’Marde originally ran in the Daily Observer by Newsco and is reprinted here with the author’s permission. Photo inserts are by me. – JCH

We – Alwin and I and dozens of students primarily from the Eastern Caribbean – gathered at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (‘the Hill’) during the late nineteen sixties/early nineteen seventies – the Black Power period, as it was dubbed. We were of societies emerging from a common history of enslavement and colonialism that had not been accurately told, the struggles of which had not yet been celebrated. The calls for creative thinking to inform new ways were strong.

Alwin Bully came to the Hill as teenage playwright, actor, dancer, artist and left it four years later as our inspirational leader – to become the most important artist of our generation – for I know of no other as multi-talented as he. He inspired us to fill the gaps in Caribbean literature – especially Caribbean theatre – that were present after the grass roots renderings of the Errol Hill/pre-independence generation of playwrights. Not only was the gap filled but it was filled with style – an approach Alwin labelled ‘calypso theatre’, a rendering of theatrical performance that absorbed and integrated the attributes of other creative forms – the dance, the music, the poetry, design, the folk narratives and storytelling. His ‘graduation’ to film continued his personal artistic development.

Alwin never strayed from the considered revolutionary lot of creative artistes to fill the massive void in our personal and societal beings – to not only reflect the contemporary but make sense of it through the understanding of the past and to be bold enough to project our future if the present day analyses and accompanying warnings were heeded – or unheeded. Importantly, the work tended to unearth and fan the values in society – in governments, in communities, native or foreign, that shape our livelihoods, our lives. Alwin called on us through his work to make personal decisions about the nature of our participation in this Caribbean society. ‘Fence-sitting’ or ‘do-nothing’ were never presented as options.

It is important to understand that Alwin’s voice and vision are not only found in the numerous fictional characters he created, but also in his contribution to this Caribbean society through his work as a cultural leader, an organization person – in his native Dominica with, inter alia, the National Cultural Council, the Dominica Artists’ Guild, the Writers’ Guild, the Dominica National Pan Association, the Carnival Organizing Committee, the Komité Pou Etid Kwéyòl and the Nature Island Literary Festival; in Jamaica with the Jamaica Association of Dramatic Artists; in the region through Theatre Information Exchange (TIE) and his two decades of work with UNESCO as Caribbean Culture Advisor.

The members of the Harambee Open Air Theatre, of which I was founder and director, all join me in this brief tribute. We consider ourselves as a sister organization to Alwin’s People’s Action Theatre (PAT). I directed two of Alwin’s plays – ‘Streak’ and ‘Ruler’ with Harambee. His ‘Folk Nativity’ inspired our ‘We Nativity’. He toured Antigua with his ‘Nitebox’; we toured Dominica with Andy O’Marde’s ‘Tell it like it is’, my ‘Tangled Web’ and most recently as guest of the Literary Festival, my ‘This world spin one way’. Together he and I wrote ‘Kaiso All Over’ – a review of calypso music outside Trinidad and Tobago for international publication – and the radio serial which he directed and produced in Dominica, ‘Fire Go Bun’.

(Image source: https://emagedm.com/profile-alwin-bully-cultural-icon)

The value of Alwin’s work has been recognized by many – including the Government and people of Dominica, Jamaica’s Culture for Development Hall of Fame, National Drama Association of Trinidad and Tobago, the University of Technology/Jamaica and The UWI which conferred on him an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree. We acknowledge the reality that he owed in no small measure his success to the partnership he shared with his wife Anita, herself a cultural policy analyst and cultural administrator.

My wife, Ingrid and I choose to also honour Alwin as family friend – Uncle Alwin and Aunt Anita to our children – caring, charming, seemingly at times unaware of his immense talent and importance to the lives of others. We join in offering our deepest condolences to Anita and their children – Brent and Sade, artistes in their own right and also to brother Colin and sister Barbara.

May he rest in peace. He will rest in our memories.

Dorbrene E. O’Marde

(Cultural worker/author/playwright/director – Antigua and Barbuda) / March 2023

Reading Lost! & With Grace, Talking Wadadli Pen at St. Andrew’s (Sabga film shoot)

I’ve already written here about what the Anthony N. Sabga Awards (of which I am this year’s arts and letters laureate) is, and I’ve already shared images from the film shoot with me here in Antigua ahead of June’s award ceremony in Trinidad on my Jhohadli blog. Now this just in!

St. Andrew’s primary school was my first stop on a two-day shoot. Thanks to Wadadli Pen Team Member Barbara Arrindell for setting it up and the school, staff, and students for welcoming me. Thanks, especially to Marissa Walter for the pictures. I read to two classes (from Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure and With Grace) and did a soft launch of the 2023 Wadadli Pen Challenge season.

Here I am reading from Lost! – about which Kirkus Reviews wrote, “An appealing book, all the more so for being based on real life.” *Kirkus promo after the images*

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Here I am reading from my Caribbean faerie tale With Grace, which Alscess Lewis Brown, editor of The Caribbean Writer, described as, ” a Caribbean space richly woven with magic, mystery, and fantasy – an engaging fable not only for young readers but any reader poised for a new reading experience that twists and turns on a suggestion of allegory.”

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Kirkus promo:

The book in the middle, To be a Cheetah, that’s my newest. I was happy to see this promo giveaway…disappointed to see it was only accessible to US legal residents. The publisher is US based but, as a Caribbean writer, I am pushing for engagement with my demographics – Black, Caribbean, and, once I get my contributor copies will try to do giveaways closer to home. If you are in the US, though, be sure to check out the Kirkus Reviews giveaway before May 14th 2023.

To be a Cheetah launches in July 2023; launch event being planned with The Best of Books and, if you are in Antigua and Barbuda, you can pre-order from them (if anywhere else in the world, pre-order wherever you shop for books).

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.

Carib Lit Plus (Mid to Late April 2023)

A reminder that the process with these Carib Lit Plus Caribbean arts bulletins is to do a front and back half of the month, updating as time allows as new information comes in; so, come back, or, if looking for an earlier installment, use the search window. (in brackets, as much as I can remember, I’ll add a note re how I sourced the information – it is understood that this is the original sourcing and additional research would have been done by me to build the information shared here – credit and link back if you use).

RIP

To Harry Belafonte, who is US born with Jamaican roots and even spent part of his childhood there with his grandpartents. Belafonte’s musical career began in the late 1940s and his breakthrough album was Calypso in 1956 which sold by the millions with career-defining songs like the still popular “Banana Boat Song/Day-O” and “Mama look ah Boo-Boo Dey”, originally recorded by Lord Melody. While no Caribbean person would crown him King of Calypso (in a world in which Sparrow exists and, for Antiguans, the Monarch), it was a title, one he wore uncomfortably, assigned him in the US, given that he brought calypso into the American mainstream. Since Belafonte’s death on April 25th 2023, social media has also been rediscovering his activism including his substantial contributions to the US Civil Rights movement and involvement in making “We are the World” happen. Belafonte was also, of course, an actor, beginning in the 1950s with Hollywood classics like Carmen Jones and Island in the Sun through blaxploitation era pics like Buck and the Preacher and Uptown Saturday Night (both directed by and co-starring Bahamian-American Sidney Poitier, another recent loss to the culture) to most recently Spike Lee’s Blackkklansman.

Art and Culture

A production team from Trinidad and Tobago was in Antigua April 23rd – 26th to film Anthony N. Sabga awards for Caribbean Excellence arts and letters laureate Joanne C Hillhouse ahead of the June 2023 awards ceremony. Joanne, founder of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize, was announced in March as the winner of the prestigius prize for her own writing and her contribution to the literary arts culture of Antigua and the Caribbean through her advocacy, activism, and action in this space. The team also filmed public health doctor Dr. Adesh Sirjusingh in Trinidad and Tobago – he is the Public and Civic Contributions laureate for 2023 – and agri-scientist Dr. Mahendra Persaud in Guyana – the science and technology laureate. Re the shoot in Antigua, I would like to express thanks to the team producer Robert Clarke, director Ryan Gibbons and audio engineer Kerron Lemessy. as well as to Marissa Walter and the staff and students of St. Andrew’s Primary, Barbara Andrea Arrindell and the staff of The Best of Books Bookstore, Ms. Mannix and her staff at the National Publi Library of Antigua and Barbuda, the owner and staff of Sips & Tips at the Northwalk Commercial Center, my family. (Source – Me)

***

National Poetry Month is an American thing, established in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, has been embraced by poets in other places – we just call it Poetry Month over here. Let’s see how we are marking the month in Caribbean spaces. At the Poets of the Caribbean blog, they’ve shared “Dis Poem” by Mutabaraka for National Poetry Month; Zora, a platform on Medium, in “Seven Young Black Women Writers to Celebrate and Support during National Poetry Month” mentioned Aja Monet who is Brooklyn-born with Caribbean roots; and I have been sharing pieces from my 2021 Medellin virtual reading on the Poetry Month 2023 playlist on my AntiguanWriter YouTube channel. The next video is set for premiere on Saturday 22nd 2023 at 10:00 a.m. AST meaning that people can watch it with me and comment live. (Source – various)

***

Ghanaian born British writer with Caribbean roots Margaret Busby, editor of Daughters of Africa and New Daughters of Africa and Britain’s first female Black publisher has been named the new president of English PEN. ‘Busby said: “For some four decades, I have admired and supported the work of English PEN, and to be able to play a part in helping that work continue is a privilege.” As president of English PEN she looked “forward to helping enable the full potential of literature worldwide, with equality of opportunity for all”.’ From the Guardian UK. (Source – Twitter)

***

In other PEN News, a reminder than US-based Jamaican writer Marlon James is a guest chair of the 2023 PEN World Voices Festival in New York. He will be having a fireside chat with fellow Booker Prize winner Ben Okri on May 13th 2023. Haitian-descended Roxane Gay will be in conversation with R F Kuang. (Source – PEN gmail)

***

Art week (previously written about here on the blog) began April 16th in Antigua and Barbuda. At this writing, I’ve visited the exhibition at the airport and visited Edison Liburd‘s art gallery, announced as a stop on the art hop. While this is no longer so, it was nice to visit his new location in All Saints and see some of his works in progress and finished pieces. Speaking of, here are some pieces from the exhibition (one of two main exhibitions on mainland Antigua, not to be confused with the Barbuda activities) in the arrival area of the V. C. Bird International Airport.

From left to right the artists are Stephen Murphy, Nicoya Henry, and Argent Javan, and the images are lifted from their respective social media.

ETA: The other major art week exhibition is at Boom, a restaurant and spa spot that was a gun powder magazine in English Harbour back in colonial times. Here’s a teaser but definitely go check it out for yourself if you’re in Antigua – it’s worth the visit.

Art from left to right are by Murphy, Emile Hill, and Carol Gordon.

ETA: This artversation on ABS TV was also a part of Art Week.

ETA: This CREATIVE SPACE of me on a Barbuda art hop during Art Week. With special thanks to Codrington Express Ferry Service.

(Source – I checked out both shows, watched the ABS live after being cued by Facebook, and travelled to Barbuda)

Accolades

Ayanna Lloyd Banwo’s When We were Birds has won the 2023 Bocas book prize; read about it here.

***

A Caribbean writer has again made the Women’s Prize short list after Trinidad and Tobago’s Lisa Allen-Agostini (What the Devil Knead) did so last year. From 16 longlisted writers, Fire Rush by Jamaica-born British based Jacqueline Crooks is in the top six. The judges describe it as “a brilliant celebration of Black womanhood…a story about dub reggae, friendships, love, and loss which spans London, Bristol, and Jamaica”. Here’s the announcement.

Other shortlisted writers/books are Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris, Pod by Laline Paull, Trespasses by Louise Kennedy, The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell, and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. The Women’s Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious literary prizes. It is awarded annually to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year. It has been issued for the last 28 years. Past winners include African American writer Tayari Jones for An American Marriage, Nigerian wrier Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, British writer of Jamaican descent Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, and Jamaican British writer Andrea Levy’s Small Island. (Source – YouTube)

***

Summer Goodwin of Christ the King High School has won the Antigua and Barbuda Sailing Week Harper’s art competition for 2023. It is described in the Daily Observer as a “bold image depicting the coral reef being protected by a sea goddess/mermaid.”

This year’s theme was “Society, Coral Reefs, the Sea and You”. More than 70 entries were received. (Source – Daily Observer by Newsco)

***

“Hurricane Watch: New and Collected Poems by Olive Senior,” Carcanet Press, “has been shortlisted for the Raymond Souster Award! The award, from the League of Canadian Poets, is for the best new book of poetry by an active League member. The prize was established to honour Raymond Souster, an early founder of the League of Canadian poets. The winners of the League Awards will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday 4th May – you can read more about the awards here.” (Source – Nature Island Literary Festival on Twitter)

***

Barbadian writer Callie Browning has a bestseller on her hands. The Girl with the Hazel Eyes is number one in Black and African American literary fiction on Amazon. “My first ribbon” she said on Twitter, with the crying emoji. Consider this your reminder to check out “Callie Browning has “done everything wrong” and That’s All Right: The Bajan Author on the Secrets to Her Success (Guest Post)” here on Wadadli Pen. (Source – Callie Browning on Twitter)

***

First awarded in March 2017, the Jhalak Prize and its sister award Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize, founded in 2020, seek to celebrate books by British/British resident BAME writers. This year’s announced Bocas fiction winner When We were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd is on the 2023 longlist.

(Source – Twitter)

Events

With my story “Evening Ritual” being in the ne 2023 abridged German translation of New Daughters of Africa, I thought I’d share some of the events in case, unlike me, you happen to be in the area. Like this April 28th discussion on empire at the University of Cologne and this one on June 20th at the Orangerie Theatre in Cologne.

***

Haitian-American writer Edwidge Dandicat’s Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work has been adapted for the stage. Writer and director is Lileana Blain Cruz, a Drama League and Obie award winning, and Tony nominee. The play will be staged at Colony Theatre in Florida from May 4th – 28th 2023. This from artist director Michel Hausman: “Create Dangerously is a dream come true for Miami New Drama. We have the opportunity to work side by side with Miami native, Lileana Blain-Cruz, a Tony nominated artist, hailed as the future of the American theater. From the company’s founding it was my mission to collaborate with Lileana since we were both Artistic Fellows at New York Theater Workshop. Now, we have the opportunity to do so with a spectacular artist whom we admire and adore, a Haitian Miamian and National Book Award Winner, Edwidge Danticat. Her work is piercing, unbelievable, and like open heart surgery. Create Dangerously is a celebration ALL about the immigrant artist, an experience our company knows and feels deeply.” (Source – Edwidge Dandicat on Facebook)

***

We’ve already told you, but here’s your timely update that Bocas is coming up and is once again live. This year there’s a decided focus on new and emerging writing talent from the Caribbean at the Trinidad-and-Tobago-based literary festival which will run from April 28th to 30th. Venue is the National Library in Port of Spain and a whopping 80 (!) events are planned. Booked authors include Kevin Jared Hosein, Sharma Taylor, and Cherie Jones – all of whom have been having breakthroughs in the last couple of years with major book deals, media attention, and prize listing.

“Seeking out and promoting new literary talent is something the NGC Bocas Lit Fest has become known for,” says festival and programme director Nicholas Laughlin. “It’s maybe the most exciting aspect of what we do, and we’re thrilled to have such a diverse and accomplished lineup this year. These are writers we’ll all be talking about in a decade — just as we’re right now celebrating authors like Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, who first shared her writing in an earlier Bocas New Talent Showcase years before she published her acclaimed novel When We Were Birds.” (Source – Bocas email)

***

Domfesta, the Dominica Festival of the Arts, is held every May. Activities, scheduled but not organized by the Dominica Cultural Division will include…

(Source – Facebook DM)

***

Carolyn Cooper previews the return of Calabash, May 26th – 28th, in Jamaica, with an Anansi spin. “Unlike Anansi, the founders of the Calabash International Literary Festival – Colin Channer, Justine Henzell and Kwame Dawes – did not selfishly hide the magical packey’s table full of nice eatables. They invited the world to share the literary feast they themselves conjured up. Since 2001, the festival has brought together a stellar cast of writers from the Caribbean and all across the globe to celebrate the power of the word. Both spoken and sung! Nobel Laureates have shared the Calabash stage with aspiring writers on the open mic. It’s an egalitarian festival.” – Jamaica Observer. (Source – Calabash Festival on Twitter)

Fun fact: I’ve been on the Calabash stage but not as an invited author (that’s still a dream) but as one of those writers scrambling (read: talking themselves into stepping) to the open mic. It was one of those feel the fear, do it anyway moments. I read from The Boy from Willow Bend and years later I realized the young writer signing us up was/would go on to be multi-multi-award winning author Marlon James. The author I was really excited (read: nervous) about meeting in real time, though, was Colin Channer and I had my fangirl moment. Channer’s Waiting in Vain was a favourite of my book club at the time and a personal favourite. It was one of those books that brought Caribbean books out from behind the glass cabinet (where they were kept at my local library) into easily accessible spaces while still, I like to think, having the respect of the academy. I was in Jamaica, along with a small contingent of Antiguan and Barbudan writers, in 2007, thanks to funding from the Commonwealth which we got together and applied for – and which I was subsequently invited to report on for a Commonwealth publication.

As with all content on wadadlipen.wordpress.com, except otherwise noted, this is written by Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Musical Youth, With Grace, Lost! A Caribbean Sea Adventure, The Jungle Outside, and To be a Cheetah – the latter scheduled for July 2023 release and available for pre-order wherever you buy books at this writing). All Rights Reserved. Subscribe to the site to keep up with future updates. Thanks.